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ellenmrozek 's review for:
Illuminae
by Jay Kristoff, Amie Kaufman
Both the format and the sheer scope of the story world took some getting used to, I'll admit. I didn't instantly love this, the way so many other people seem to. But once the shipboard secrets began surfacing and the mysterious plague began to afflict the survivors, I got hooked so fast it wasn't even funny.
For whatever reason, Kady and Ezra both became much more interesting to me once their paths diverged. In trying to forget each other and forge new paths, they grew into braver and funnier and far more dynamic individuals. I had so much fun reading about Kady's hacking exploits, and some of the conversations between Ezra and his fellow pilots made me laugh out loud. The last 300-400 pages flew by, as the action intensified and the stakes rose higher and higher. This is a book with an extremely high body count, no question about that, but it's also the kind of book that makes you care about every last character left on board the ship. Even, or especially, when it begins to seem like nobody will survive the (literal) madness taking hold on board.
If you're also the sort of reader who struggles to find their feet in epistolary novels, try giving ILLUMINAE a little more time to entice you. I promise you won't regret it.
For whatever reason, Kady and Ezra both became much more interesting to me once their paths diverged. In trying to forget each other and forge new paths, they grew into braver and funnier and far more dynamic individuals. I had so much fun reading about Kady's hacking exploits, and some of the conversations between Ezra and his fellow pilots made me laugh out loud. The last 300-400 pages flew by, as the action intensified and the stakes rose higher and higher. This is a book with an extremely high body count, no question about that, but it's also the kind of book that makes you care about every last character left on board the ship. Even, or especially, when it begins to seem like nobody will survive the (literal) madness taking hold on board.
If you're also the sort of reader who struggles to find their feet in epistolary novels, try giving ILLUMINAE a little more time to entice you. I promise you won't regret it.